The SMCC Beacon 3-4-2014

Issue 5 Volume 11 March 4 2014

By the students, for the students

DEAD BROKE

THE TATTOO TREND

SMCC CUTS CLASSES

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

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and a Parking Ticket

The Banyamulenge Tribe at Risk

A Documentary Film in Progress

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By Charles Ishimwe

he Banyamulenge tribe is a minority tribe in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are more than 250 tribes in Congo similar to the number of languages spoken in the DRC. Many of the Banyamulenge tribe has been murdered since the tribe moved to the Congo in the 1990’s. The minority Tutsis, who are Banyamulenge, immigrated from Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda to the Congo. I have been dreaming to show the world about the tortures and killings that this tribe have experienced since I have learned what is going on in the Congo.

Considering my personal experience, the atrocities that the Tutsis’ tribes have suffered drive me to make my first documentary film about the Banyamulenge tribe who are always facing death for no specific reason.

The documentary that I am working on focuses on the major killings and massacres that have happened to this tribe. Tribe members have been killed in Gatumba, Burundi, Kisangani, Lubumbashi, Bukavu and people are still being murdered today.

In 2012 I went to the Gatumba Memorial service in Washington DC where I had the opportunity to interview survivors and tribe leaders who lead the memorial service.

These interviews are an integral part of telling this horrific story. Complimenting the 2012 footage will be 10 interviews of the survivors and different leaders of the Banyamulenge including people from the United Nations and other peacekeeping agencies. Photographs form international newspapers and background music from the survivors and artists who live in United States are also going to be used.

Some interviews will be done in the United States, Europe, Canada and Africa. I plan on conducting more interviews in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and with United Nations officials who are aware of these massacres. The interviewees who don’t speak English will use their local language as English and French subtitles will be used.

I would like to show the world what this tribe has been experiencing. I believe that once international organizations understand what atrocities the tribe is suffering, the international community will take the initiative to promote peace and justice in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This film is going to be used as a voice that can be heard around the world and speak on behalf of the survivors who (Continued on page 2)

Reporting with Censorship

Oh Freedom!

Americans.

What was truly amazing about this panel discussion was the proximity that both Harold Pachios and Gerald Talbot had in relationship to Lyndon Johnson, and the 1963 March on Washington DC.

Both panelist spoke glowingly about their By involvement with the passage of this legislation Jennifer Lague sharing insightful stories with a captive audience.

Mr. Pachios shared his understanding of Lyndon oughly 50 years ago, Lyndon Johnson Johnson as a practical politician who implored signed into legislation the Civil Rights act congress members to do what is right for America of 1964 a landmark piece of civil rights first, by voting for the act. legislation that outlawed discrimination based

Gerald Talbot, an African American and on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It Maine native, who was born and raised in Bangor ended unequal application of voter registration Maine, spoke from a personal point of view requirements and racial segregation in schools, sharing his stories about fighting discrimination in at the workplace and by facilities that served the Maine as well as in other states. general public.

Mr. Talbot, who became the first African

This past Thursday The Learning Commons American to serve in the Maine House of Reprehosted a panel discussion to commemorate the passage of this landmark bill. Organized by SMCC sentatives serving from 1972 to 1978, witnessed first hand the emotional History Department scarring and physical Instructor Herb Adams, harm that racial diswho is a former Maine crimination wrought on State representative, and its victims. When asked the Learning Common’s to elaborate on what he Lisa McDaniels, guest witnessed, Gerald spoke speakers: Attorney of how he and his wife Harold Pachios, who was were evicted from housAssistant Secretary to ing units in Portland Lyndon B. Johnson, the numerous times. These Honorable Gerald Talbot, hardships channeled First President of the Portland Branch of the Gerald Talbot, Harold Pachios and Zachary Heiden Talbot’s energies into filing three housing NAACP and a Voting stand in front of a poster commemorating the discrimination suits.

Rights Activist, and passage of the Civil Rights act of 1964. Gerald Talbot’s fight Attorney Zach Heiden, Talbot can be seen in the poster standing on the left. against discrimination the Chief Counsel of also saw him sponsor a bill to remove the “n”word the Maine Civil Liberties Union spoke of past and from 12 Maine place-names. present struggles of achieving civil rights for all

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Then and Now

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The Road to Uniontown Via SMCC

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By The Beacon Sports Staff

fter 2 years of being hosted by Central Maine Community College and New Hampshire Technical Institute, the YSCC Elite 8 post-season tournament returned to the Hutchinson Gymnasium here on the SMCC campus. Women and men teams representing 9

CMCC Lady Mustangs celebrate after closing out the YSCC Elite 8 tournament with a resounding victory over UMaine Augusta.

different schools participated in the tournament, which is also billed as the Road to Uniontown where the USCAA National Finals are held.

Over the course of 4 days, 14 games were played with the women’s quarter-final games starting Thursday afternoon and the men’s quarter-finals starting Friday.

Central Maine Community College women and men’s teams entered the tournament seeded first with SMCC seeded 2 in both the women and men’s brackets. A highly anticipated final of SMCC squaring off against CMCC never materialized as the Lady Seawolves fell to University of Maine-Augusta in the semi-final game and the Men Seawolves were defeated by St. Joseph’s of Vermont also in the semi-finals.

CMCC women’s team, which was ranked

As Zachary Heiden signs the poster, Gerald Talbot and Herold Pachios speak with audience memebers.

Rounding out the panelist was Zachery Heiden who spoke of current push back against everyone’s cevil rights reminding the audience that the struggle for equality is a never ending conflict.

He spoke about withholding healthcare fom immigrants who have landed here in Maine who have not yet been nationalized.

All in all, the panel discussion was well worth the time and energy that Herb Adams and Lisa McDaniels put into it. Such events serve an incredible purpose, especially when panelist such as, Mr. Pachios and Mr. Talbot, who willingly share their insights and experiences in the battle for civil rights. A battle in which Mr. Heiden and his colleagues are working towards their own obolesence as hard as they can. Hopefully, someday we will all see that day.

number 1 in national polls heading into the tournament, defeated Unity College (87-53), Vermont Tech (107-60) and University of Maine Augusta (100-48) earning the right to play in the nationals.

Whereas the Lady Mustangs rolled to easy victories over their competition, the Men Mustang’s journey was one that tested them as they earned hard fought victories against Vermont Tech (93-77), University of Maine-Machias (10295) and St. Joseph’s of Vermont (90-69).

CMCC men’s team, which plays a high intensity defensive game and pushes the ball up court using a quick paced offensive, had the battle of the tournament against University of Maine-Machias. At times the play under the basket was down right dirty as CMCC’s players liberally fouled the Machias players. For the duration of the game the Machias players never backed down from the rough play that CMCC capitalizes on.

Contrary to the level and intensity of the competition exhibited on the court, the YSCC Elite Eight Basketball Banquet, which was held Friday morning before the men’s quarter-finals, saw all of the teams gather at the Hilton By the Bay, to honor the players who were voted First and Second Team All-Conference, as well as Players of the Year, Team Sportsman of the Year and Coaches of the year.

Again CMCC was ultra-present throughout the awards ceremony as the Men’s Head Coach Dave Gonyea was named Coach of the Year who also won his 400th game earlier this season.

CMCC Junior Luis Medina and Sophomore Susie French each received the league’s highest honor as being named player of the year. CMCC women and men’s basketball teams were also recognized as the YSCC regular season champions.

Other honors went to SMCC’s women’s head Coach Julia Howe was honored as coach of the year. Julia lead the Lady Seawolves to a (continued on Page 11)

CAMPUSnews Alpha Chi Nuz PTK Invites Student Success

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Fall 2014 Job Openings on the Beacon for designers, writers & photographers

By Angelina Smith

ith Midterms right around the corner, the semester is flying by! If your cumulative GPA is at least 3.5, you should be receiving an invitation to Phi Theta Kappa by mail and email, sign up today to gain access to great resources including scholarships, transfer assistance, the e-Portfolio, Competitive Edge, and the PTK website. The Spring Common Application, on PTK.org, for PTK transfers is now open; don’t forget to fill it out for your chance at some free college money! Alpha Chi Nu would like to remind transfer students that the Early Action deadlines for the Fall 2014 semester for most colleges is March 1st, make sure that you’re on track for transfer with Collegefish.org, a tool developed

by Phi Theta Kappa to help students succeed.

Alpha Chi Nu is hosting a Bagel Sale to raise funds to benefit the Captain’s Cupboard, SMCC’s food pantry, and Alpha Chi Nu. The sale is ongoing; every Thursday from 8 AM to 11 AM, in the Campus Center of the South Portland SMCC campus. A delicious bagel or cup of hot coffee is only $1.00, so stop by and help your community!

But wait, there’s more: get any combination of two items for just $1.75! You can also contribute by giving donations of nonperishable food items,

or volunteering in the food pantry. The Captain’s Cupboard is open to all students with a valid and updated SMCC student I.D.; the pantry is great place to pick up perishable and nonperishable food, personal hygiene supplies, and valuable information about other local resources. Questions and comments about the Captain’s Cupboard should be emailed to captainscupboard@smccme. edu.

Alpha Chi Nu has two upcoming travel occasions planned for the Spring semester, the Phi Theta Kappa Regional and International Conventions. The Regional event will take place in Nashua, New Hampshire, and the International event will be in Orlando, Florida. As part of the conventions, PTK Officers will be attending lectures and workshops. Alpha Chi Nu is looking forward to the chance to build a stronger Chapter team and bring back benefits for the entire SMCC community, such as leadership and organization skills, stronger fellowship with other Chapters, and possibly prestige for our own Chapter! To stay updated on news and events regarding Alpha Chi Nu, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/alpha.chi.nu.

SMCC’s Community Garden is gearing up for spring planting! As Alpha Chi Nu’s Honors in Action project, the community garden was a way to open up access to nutritious food, and talk about how students will be able to learn about sustainable gardening. Alpha Chi Nu members researched how competition for food in Maine affects the community, and established the garden as way to generate conversation and provide a place for students and faculty to experience gardening firsthand. In addition, participants get the added benefit of lots of fresh, free organic veggies!

contact rguthrie@smccme.edu or cott@smccme.edu

www.thesmccbeacon .wordpress.com

Children victims of the 2004 Gatumba, Burundi camp genocide (Photo provided by Jean Claude Musore) http://www.hmsv.org

Banyamulenge (continued from page 1)

Art Director Laura Young

Graphic Designer Tammy Huisingh cannot speak for themselves.

Photo Editor Jennifer Lague

Hopefully, the film when completed will Illustration Coordinator Rebekah Nappa provide a sense of healing for those who have Illustrators Jessica Baker suffered the brutality of massacres, and draw Matt Keith public awareness to the ongoing plight of those

Jennifer Lague still suffering in eastern Democratic Republic of Managing editor Jason Glynn Congo, while promoting the spirit of reconcilia Section Editors Garrick Hoffman tion and peace in the Great Lakes Region of Afri Richard Sawyer ca. People who committed these massacres, such

Patrick Doyle as Agathon Rwasa, must be brought to justice;

A.S. Kinsman he is a criminal, and this film is one of the ways Contributing writers Jennifer Connor Sam Coombs Patrick Doyle Jason Glynn Dustin Goodale Kora O. Han Xavior Hanson Garrick Hoffman Charles Ishimwe A.S. Kinsman Levelheaded Larry Nicholas James Miller Darcy Pope Richard Sawyer Kyle Scholes Sabra Schirm Angelina Smith Erik Squire Kyle Talbot

Web Master Charles Ishimwe

Online Graphics Angelina Smith

Advisor Chuck Ott

The SMCC Beacon is published by and for the students of SOUTHERN MAINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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to show the world that justice is needed for the Tutsis minority tribe of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Charles is shooting his first interviews between November and December 2014 in Gatumba memorial House, Burundi in Central Africa. If you want to accompany Charles in his shootings in above countries mentioned, please do not hesitate to contact him.

If you want to support this project in any way, please feel free to contact Charles Ishimwe charlesishimwe@student.smccme.edu

Charles Ishimwe is a Communication and New Media major, as well as being a Smile Again Club representative.

CAMPUSnews Campus Exposed

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By Garrick Hoffman

ello there, fond readers, and welcome back to another edition of Campus Exposed. I regret to say that my campus news for this week’s Beacon is a dismal bit. Please read on.

After speaking with Shane Long, the Director of Residence Life and Student Involvement, I learned that three SMCC programs have been severed in response to the school’s budgeting plights, declining resources, and low enrollments: the Welding, Health Information Technology, and Radiation Therapy Associate Degree Programs.

In a letter to SMCC employees, President Cantor asserted that current attendees will not be affected; however, future would-be students for these programs will no longer be admitted.

Because the school and its programs are so reliant upon student enrollment to offset budgeting costs, these programs were the first to go.

The school will continue to offer credit and non-credit welding courses to meet the needs of students and business affiliates, but it has been determined that the full degrees/certificates for the Welding Program are not adequate in curbing costs due to its insufficient enrollment.

As for the Health Information Technology program, the grant funding used to establish the program has seen its demise. President Cantor has said that, “The desired accreditation for this program would require two new full-time faculty positions,” and that this is “something that is clearly out of the question in this budgetary environment.” He goes on to say that efforts will continue in communications with the healthcare community, as well as with colleges and universities, to reach future resolutions.

Like the Welding Program, the Radiation Therapy Associate degree program suffered from low enrollment, and thus the high costs to run it were vanquishing its sustainability.

SMCC is not the only school to have been affected by budgetary issues, however. Kennebec Valley Community College recently saw considerable slashes in their faculty, with eight out of their 43 full-time members being given notice of their lay off. One SMCC faculty member has also been given a similar notice. However, tensions have risen, as contracts between community college faculty members and the college themselves state that, in the event of a lay-off, the college is

The Business Hub

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By Darcy Pope

i everyone! This issue I’ll be talking about a few things like stocks, entrepreneurship, and news in the business world!

In the last Business Club meeting we focused on our stock portfolio and how we needed to make some changes. First, one of the stocks we invested in was Sand Ridge Energy Inc., which has been staying at a steady price but has recently started to decrease. The club will vote on Feb. 27th on whether to sell, or to keep the stock in hopes that it will begin to grow again.

Green Mountain Coffee, our most profitable stock, may begin to decrease at a steady rate because of the increase in coffee prices. With this stock, we’ve doubled the initial investment we made, so the club had to make a quick decision on what to do with this stock. We decided to put a stop on it, meaning that once the stock falls below an amount that we set, it is automatically sold. But how can you tell when you should sell, keep, or put a stop in on one of your stocks? Pay attention to how the company is doing financially, pay attention to world events that affect your company’s products, and pay attention to how your company’s competition is going. If you invest in the right company, do thorough research, and know these few things, you could make a great investment on stocks!

This past week, it was announced that the creator of Candy Crush, King Media Entertainment, is filing for its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange stating that they have a $1.9 billion in revenue and $570 million in profit. While this

required to confer with the Maine Community College Faculty Association. In this case, that did not happen. The Association is now working to justify the lay-offs and ameliorate the situation at hand.

Clearly, the bleak happenings both at our home campus and elsewhere within our community college system are testaments to the reality we face today.

At SMCC alone, where there are over 7,000 students, enrollments in the last fall semester were down by 4% from the previous semester.

This semester we’ve seen it plummet almost by twice that, with over a 7% decline. Some questions that emerge are: how can we maintain a healthy enrollment, both in the college as a whole, and in the programs we’d like to see not only stay afloat, but flourish? Why is enrollment down? What steps must be taken to prevent situations like these happening, if it’s preventable at all? What’s to become of faculty members who are laid off?

Let’s keep in mind that the Maine Community College System is the cheapest in all of New England, with the tuition a flat rate throughout the entirety of the system. Ever see out-of-staters flock this way for school? I’ve made a couple friends from Vermont myself who were attending because it was still cheaper to attend here than it was in their own home state. This fact provides incentive for higher enrollment, thus allowing the schools and economy to prosper; however, we’re still seeing faculty members laid off, a decline in enrollment, and mounting budgetary concerns.

Lastly, I want to take a moment in this column to extend an apology to the Radiography Program on my behalf. In the last issue of The Beacon, I included a title: “The Radiography

stock may seem like a great idea to invest in, you have to think about it for a minute. How many games have we all downloaded on our smart phones and then stop playing in a month or so later?

Guilty. How many of us give up on the stage that asks us to pay for the next 10 stages?

Guilty. A New York Times article claims these as “fad games” and while Candy Crush is definitely successful, who’s to say that that won’t change when another game like Flappy Bird or 4Pics1Word could become popular next month? (Here’s the source: “Why Candy Crush I.P.O. Could Be a Dangerous Game” by: Dominic Elliot) It’s a risky investment.

Do you like taking risks? Are you a dedicated and knowledgeable person who hates working for “The Man” and has creative, unique ideas?

Well you might be an entrepreneur in the making! The official definition of an Entrepreneur is, “One that creates a new business in the face of risk and uncertainty for achieving profit and assembles the necessary resources to make it happen.” A few characteristics required to be a successful entrepreneur are: you have to be dedicated to working many hours (perk: you’re working for yourself!), be able to create a new and unique idea, and to assume the risks of your business failing.

The most successful businesses today all started with an idea, for example Steve Jobs started the infamous Apple in a garage. We even have some entrepreneurs in our club like Saman Baghestani of www.SoPoBooks. com (some of you may have purchased your books through there!) and Justin Leighton of www.mainejunkyards.net.

Our club meetings are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 12:30 to 1:15 in the business lounge! Hope to see your there!

Program Acquires a New Toy, that could have been interpreted as misleading, inaccurate, and inappropriate, and may even indicate frivolous spending from the program (which is absolutely false), in a time when budgetary issues are permeating the college scene.

Although the article itself established the weight of the program’s circumstance accurately, the title did not adequately parallel the article. The machine that the program inherited is an incredibly vital tool with years of use in its future, and the program and its students are very fortunate to have acquired it; it is not simply some “toy” as I labeled it in the title.

Furthermore, I also included quotes that were attributed to the wrong person, and all of them (except for the student quotes) were actually the words of Seth Doane, Instructor in the Radiography Program. Via the online issue of The Beacon, these matters were addressed and corrections were made. However, I wanted to herald my apology to the Radiography Program for my moment of poor judgment and acknowledge to the readers the errors that were found within the article. I’ve been forgiven for my mistakes, and perhaps the average reader wouldn’t bat an eye at the title, but I nonetheless sought to address the issue here in Campus Exposed.

Stay classy, dear readers, and thanks for tuning in.

The Student Senate at Work

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By Kyle Talbot

ello student body! It’s been a cold and hectic semester so far, but it’s slowly warming up, though the wind won’t seem to let up. I’m Kyle Talbot and as of last Wednesday the 19th I’ve been elected to be the new Secretary of Public Relations of the Student Senate, but as I’ve found while living here most the campus doesn’t know what the senate is or what we do.

I’m here to give everyone as much information as I possibly can about both the senate and the different clubs around campus, so this week I’ll be going through some of what the senate does. Now the Student Senate is an organization made up of elected students that make decisions on many different issues such as: reviewing any new clubs that wish to be started up, funding for club activities and materials, suggestions on policy changes, or creating new policies on campus, and overseeing and funding many of the free events held around campus.

We are the ones you come to if you have some complaint, or an issue you want to have heard about the campus, or if you want to start up a new club on campus, or even if you just want to see what happens with some of the money you spend to come here.

All of our meetings are open to all SMCC students and we encourage people to come and listen as we work. We meet in the Jewett auditorium from 4:30 to approximately 6 every Wednesday so if you want to know more come sit in and talk with us after the meetings!

Also stay tuned into the Beacon as from now on I’ll be giving an article on what the senate and clubs on campus are up to. Keep on reading people!

Dead Broke and a Parking Fine to Boot!

By Erik Squire

The student parking lot outside of the Plumbing and HVAC building (parking lot B) is a little tricky. Some may notice, while driving in, that there are at least 4-5 cars parked on the outside of the parking barrier, with tickets on their windshields. That is because, though it seems like an okay place to park, students cannot park there.

No worries, this article is not written in judgment of the students who’ve already parked there; it does seem like a large enough space (especially when one is running late). This article is written to save the students who have not yet parked there, an unnecessary $25 fee.

Perhaps SMCC students can take it a step further and ask for a sign to be put up; until then, happy parking. | March 4, 2014 |3

THEotherWORLD Not Quite Ready: Bullet to the Brain

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By A.S. Kinsman

ot many people can take a bullet to the head and live to tell about it.

54-year-old Scott Fraley of Raymond, Maine, was ice fishing on a frozen lake in West Gardiner with a friend when there was a loud bang, and then he felt a searing pain in the back of his head.

He had been shot.

“We’re having a conversation and I hear a gun go off, a gunshot, and then all of a sudden it was as if somebody cracked me in the back of the head with a baseball bat and then I grabbed my head and I could feel that there was a big lump on my head. I didn’t know what had happened. I looked at my hand. I had a lot of blood on it,” Fraley recalled.

Incredibly, the gunshot wasn’t fatal.

Fraley, an Army veteran, walked calmly off the ice, where he was tended to by first responders. Scott Fraley said first responders acted quickly, kindly and professionally.

By the time Maine state troopers arrived on scene, shots were still being fired from the same gun that nearly killed Fraley.

Upon investigation, authorities discovered 21-year-old Bryan Hickey of West Gardiner, who was the shooter. Fraley and his friend had been near the West Gardiner Rod and Gun Club. Authorities still don’t know what exactly happened, but it appears that Hickey was apparently randomly shooting into the forest when a bullet ricocheted off a tree and hit Fraley out on the nearby lake.

Fraley said he never lost consciousness.

He was taken to Maine General in Augusta, where he was treated and released.

The doctors decided against removing the bullet from Fraley’s skull, and instead will wait for the bullet to work itself out of his head without medical intervention.

Fraley says that he still has an incredible headache and ringing in his ears.

“People who use firearms should know what it is they’re doing and be extremely safe — that it’s not a toy. If you’re going to point it, you need to know what you’re pointing it at and there’s just no excuse for that, zero because the consequences are irreversible,” he said.

Police are still trying to determine exactly why Hickey was shooting randomly into the trees. Charges have not been filed as of yet.

Fraley and his wife, Lisa, are still in shock by what happened, and are slowly processing how close he came to being seriously hurt or killed.

“You just never would think in a million years that he would be out with his friends on the lake on a gorgeous day and that could happen.” said Lisa Fraley, Scott Fraley’s wife.

“You just never would dream of it.”

Crime 101 and Beyond: Brink’s the Perfect Crime

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By Kyle Scholes

n the night of January 17, 1950 a bank named Brink’s was robbed of over 3 million dollars in checks, money orders, cash, and other securities by 8 men wearing navy coats, shoes designed to make no footstep and,

masks from a fictional superhero Mr. Marvel.

5 employees who had been bound and, forced to the ground at gunpoint had witnessed only a small part of the crime. When the robbers made away with the money the bound men struggled to free themselves. Once free they reported the crime to the police. The police arrived at the Brink’s bank. But, because money orders that were stolen had belonged to The Federal Reserve

The Science Watchroom I

By Jason Glynn

must issue a slight apology; the last installment of this probably could have easily been placed in the Op&Ed section.

I should have focused more on debunking the ‘science’ of creationism, but I couldn’t really find any real science supporting the theory.

That issue is obviously near and dear to my heart, but this column is intended to share new breakthroughs and findings in the world of science, and omit my personal opinion. To be clear I am not apologizing for my opinion, but this is just not the forum to interject it. So let’s get back to breakthroughs. In this article, I’m getting down to bees-knees; what I have to share is bad news for bees, and us.

I did a pretty lengthy report on the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) last semester that has been affecting honeybee populations so I am pretty wellversed on this topic. So, let me bombard you with some more buzzwords and facts. Bees are important, HUGELY important. There is a quote out there that is often attributed Albert Einstein, but with controversy; it goes: “If bees were to disappear from the face of the earth, man would have no more than four years left to live.”

Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but nonetheless their loss would be detrimental to the economy, society, and not to mention many plants, fruits, and veggies. Here are some crops that would be no more without the bee: apples, blueberries, almonds, cucumbers, cherries, avocados, pumpkins, onions, grapefruits, and oranges, just to name a few.

Let’s look at the effects of losing just two of those crops real quick. Almonds and blueberries, first up is California’s biggest agriculture export: almonds. Worth about $2.2 billion yearly, yes, that’s billion. They are 100% dependent on bees, so much so, that beekeepers around the country truck hives in just to pollinate the crop. Now let’s bring that closer to home with blueberries. Maine is actually well-known for them. We produce nearly 40% of North America’s crop, worth about $150 million to our economy. They are about 95% dependent on bees and would not survive without them.

So what is killing the bees?

If you didn’t know, CCD has been decimating honeybee populations since the late 1990s. This is a phenomenon where worker bees leaves a hive and mysteriously never return. There is no trace of them either, they just vanish. After the worker bees are gone the rest of the colony collapses, hence the name.

A typical bee colony has between 30k and 70k bees in it, and CCD is responsible for a 65% decline in US colonies, so the loss is substantial.

The cause of the worker bees’ disappearance is unknown. Genetically modified crops, pesticides, fungicides, viruses, modern mono-agriculture, pathogenic parasites, and even electromagnetism have been blamed. The leading theory is that something environmental is affecting their learning, so when they leave the hive to forage they get lost and can’t find their way back home.

CCD has been likened to AIDS for the bee, where it is not one factor in itself, but many. After the worker bees are gone the young brood cannot gather honey or sustain itself, they then become more susceptible to other opportunistic pathogens and viruses.

Collapsed colonies have become so contaminated that typical hive scavengers, like the wax moth, will avoid the collapsed hive until it has been irradiated.

So it’s well known that honeybees have taken a hit, but now new and more disconcerting research has just come out. Some of the culprits behind CCD have now been found in a fellow pollinator – the brethren wild bumblebee.

Two pathogens, the fungal Nosema ceranae and Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), have been observed in wild bumblebee populations.

Although honeybees are responsible for 80% of pollinators, bumblebees are a large chunk of the rest. If this is anything like when it hit the managed hives of honeybees, it doesn’t look good for the bumblebee. In fact, it may drive them to extinction.

This should be a concern to all of us. If you want to know more about bees importance to us, just do some quick Google searches and you’ll quickly find enough information to scare yourself. If you want to help our bees: plant some flowers or veggies.

Yours Sincerely

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By Erik Squire

he word Sincere is defined in the dictionary as “having or showing true feelings that are expressed in an honest way: genuine or real.” That is a perfect way to describe sincerity. Though, if I were to add to that description I would say that sincerity is a language utilized not so much by the mind but by the heart and soul.

What’s meant by that is, sincerity’s primarily expressed and received through a deeper connection than mere comprehension by the brain.

The words we choose are of less importance then the heartfelt way in which we use them; at least when it comes to being sincere. Even the most articulated kind words can be spoken to others for a self-serving purpose. However, when someone says “I love you” or “your beautiful” because that person so truly cares for the other

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bank, as well as the Veterans Administration Office the case was quickly taken over by the FBI.

With little but rope, tape, and four serial numbers belonging to revolvers, which also had been stolen the FBI set their focus on street gangs. All over the country gang-members were being hunted down and interrogated. But, even still this was not enough so, FBI agents offered any person in America who could successfully help locate the bank robbers $100,000 in cash.

Frequent tips were made yet this was still not enough. With nearly all hope lost, and time passing by agents stumbled upon truck pieces, which had been cut up, and smashed. Although they gained no evidence from this truck it caused them to set their focus on two men: Pino, and Mc Ginnis, as well as conduct searches throughout Stougnton and Boston. Neither of these two men had the nerve to pull off such a dangerous task like this one though. Which led FBI agents to follow this road further. They found that Pino worked with a man named O’ Keefe before the burglary. Neither, Pino or O’ Keefe had a convincing alibi as to where they were the night of the robbery. Now with the FBI’s focus on Pino, and O’ Keefe, and a search of the Stougnton Boston area for further information, FBI agents received a tip that stolen money from the Brink’s Bank was in an O’Keefe relative’s house. They got a search warrant and entered the home to find the money. The FBI could not identify the money as having come from Brink’s robbery.

Having searched the O’ Keefe’s relatives house they also searched his families house. O’ Keefe must have realized how close the FBI agents were getting to linking him to the Brink case because he and Guscoria, his friend who was also a bank robber made a trip out of Stoughnton most likely to drop off the FBI’s radar.

For whatever reason O’ Keefe and Guscoria were arrested in Towanda, Pennsylvania. O’ Keefe remained in jail for 4 years. During his stay rumors were circulating around with names of the other Brink’s gang members (who remained unknown to the FBI), trying to help O’ Keefe get out of jail. But, as O’ Keefe stayed in jail hatred for the other Brink’s members rose. With the other gang members seemingly having a time of their life and ignoring O’ Keefe’s demands for his share of the money he grew ever more angry. Until he couldn’t take it anymore and confessed to the FBI giving the names of the other gang members: Baker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, Mcginnis, Pino, Faherty, Richardson and confessing himself, O’ Keffe.

If he had not said anything every other member would likely have gotten away with the bank robbery and with 100’s of thousands of dollars in their pockets. But in the end, the FBI’s more than 6year intensive investigation of the Brink’s Bank robbery helped crack this case. The criminals were finally caught and a court date was set. The record of the state trial was more than 5,300pages, which is greater than that of the first 5 Harry Potter books. The court decided on life sentences for Baker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, Mcginnis, Pino, Faherty, Richardson and O’ Keefe even though no one was killed or injured.

Skipping forward to the present. One million dollars of Brink’s Bank money is still out there somewhere. Where could it be? Who will find it?

that the words have to escape that person’s mouth, that is sincerity.

Think about all of the truly meaningful moments in your life. No doubt they were each based in some amount of sincerity. The ones we love the most are the ones that love us most sincerely.

The words that mean the most to us are those said sincerely. One could argue that the paramount contributor to happiness is sincerity, in whatever form it is present.

The purpose of this article is not to state the obvious rather it is as a gentle reminder of the importance of sincerity in our lives. When something happens so naturally, one hardly takes notice of it. The hope of this article is to push others to take notice of what is sincere in their perspective lives. Maybe sincerity once recognized, can be practiced more readily. Aristotle said “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Perhaps then, knowing sincerity is the beginning of all happiness.

Dedicated to Anna Puigbert- My dear friend, even in your broken English, your words are more profound to me than that of a scholar or a poet.

You are among the most sincere beings that I have ever had the joy of knowing.

THEotherWORLD Tuning up Your System with CCleaner

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By A.S. Kinsman

hy are tattoos so popular in today’s society? It was just a few years ago that they were the trademarks of biker gangs, pirates, criminals, and gang members. Now, it seems like everyone has a tattoo.

Twenty-four percent of Americans between 18 and 50 are tattooed; that’s almost one of four.

In 2011, $1.65 billion was spent in the U.S. on tattoos. There are over 21,000 tattoo shops in the United States alone. It is a thriving industry that shows no signs of slowing down.

People get tattoos for several reasons. Some get them to be rebellious. Others to feel sexy.

Others use it as a way to memorize a time, place, or person on their bodies. A young man in an NBC interview said, “Your body’s an empty canvas, so you almost want to continue to add to it.”

Tattoos have become a fashion statement in today’s world, especially in the youth culture. Many famous celebrities such as Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Miley Cyus, Justin Bieber, and many others all sport tattoos like they would sport clothes or a fashion brand.

The big difference, however, is that you can take clothes off. Tattoos are permanent, since they are in the lower layer of the skin, the dermis, and can only be removed through expensive laser treatment.

“Tattoos are a special part in some people’s lives and they want to be reminded of special things,” Carly K. said on an online forum concerning the idea of tattoo prevalence. “People who get tattoos just to get a tattoo don’t realize that they are there forever. What will they look like when there 80 years old and covered in tattoos? Overall, tattoos are special and nice to people.”

Once a tribal rite of passage, a signifier of dangerous associations, or a mark of freakish deviance, the tattoo is now commercialized, with a relatively low price tag. On average, a small tattoo will cost about $45 per hour, while a larger or more complex tattoo will range around $150 per hour.

“On a global scale, tattoos are more common now than they ever have been before,” said Nina Jablonski, professor of anthropology at Penn State, and author of Skin: A Natural History.

Tattoos have played two primary roles in human culture, said Deborah Davidson, a sociologist at York University, as a mark of deviance or decoration. They can convey stigma, as in the marking of captives or the marginalized, especially Nazi concentration camp victims. But they can also be extraordinarily beautiful, as in

the henna designs for brides across Africa and Asia.

Motivations are diverse. One study by German sociologists found they include beauty, art, fashion, individuality, personal narrative, physical endurance, group affiliation, resistance, spirituality, cultural tradition, addiction, pure impulsivity, and naturally, sexual attraction. An American survey even found tattoos of corporate logos, mainly Harley Davidson, but also Nike, Adidas, Budweiser, Corona, Apple, Ford, Chevrolet and Volkswagen.

Other trends have emerged. Most people do not get just one. Men get their first tattoo earlier than women. Tattooed women are seen as less attractive but more promiscuous. 36% of young adults (ages 18-25) have a tattoo.

40% of adults between 25 and 40 have a tattoo.

Interestingly enough, 32% of people (that’s just about a third of everyone who has a tattoo) says that they are addicted to ink.

For now, it seems, tattooing is a fad, a trend, especially in the younger crowd. For tattooing as a trend, the implication is dire, because when the old adopt the stylistic lingo of the young, the young tend to cringe and move on.

Tattooing has become increasing popular over the past several decades. How much longer will the uprising trend continue to go up?

Perhaps it is only a matter of time.

Breath of Life

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By A.S. Kinsman

hen a baby stops breathing, your heart stops beating, too. Except your heart will restart its steady rhythm in a matter of seconds, but the baby won’t start breathing. This is the nightmarish situation that unfolded on a Florida highway on February 20th, 2014.

37-year-old Pamela Rauseo was stuck in a traffic jam in the afternoon on Miami Highway 836 when she looked into the backseat to check on her 5-month-old nephew, Sebastian de la Cruz. She noticed that the silent baby wasn’t breathing. And he was turning a deathly shade of blue from lack of oxygen.

Sebastian had been born prematurely and as a result, suffered from respiratory problems.

But something like this had never happened before. And Pamela knew if she didn’t act very quickly, her tiny nephew would soon be gone.

She immediately pulled the car over on the westbound lane and jumped out, screaming

By Dustin Goodale

as your computer ever felt dreadfully slow all of a sudden while browsing the web or moving around the operating system in general? Have your favorite applications been crashing lately? Well if you have answered yes to either of these questions than there may be a cache build up deep inside your computer. This “cache” is basically a collection of information or items that is stored in a hidden inaccessible place on your computer. When this cache becomes too high it can make normal computer processes slow down to a crawl. This problem happens to all computers no matter how expensive or inexpensive they are. It just happens and there really is no one single way to avoid it. So that is why, when you notice some of these things happening to your computer, using a program like CCleaner can save your day.

CCleaner is a great tool to have on any Windows computer or even your Mac. It is the number one way to clean out unused files, broken shortcuts, and temporary junk files that build up over time. Unneeded files and junk build up over time in many different programs, and can cause a relatively easy task, such as opening a web page a struggle. There are many options out there for removing junk like this, but the free version CCleaner offers many premium features, and does not come with bloat ware like toolbars. It is a totally pain free utility that can speed up any computer. When it is first installed the best thing to do is hit the analyze button and it will take a look at all of these temporary files.

For example I just installed Windows 8.1 a little over 3 months ago. I ran the initial analysis scan and it picked up 23,000 MB of this junk that was useless and needed to be removed. Then I would run the Cleaner and it would remove nearly 23 GB of data that is bogging down my computer. This tool is extremely powerful and is a huge time saver when you are looking for that extra speed boost. Another thing it can help with is missing or broken registry configurations and settings. These configurations and settings are responsible for low-level operating system components and for applications that use the registry. It is key that these files are not

for help. A woman in a car nearby in the jam, Lucila Godoy, heard Rauseo’s cries and left her own toddler in the back seat of her car, rushing to the 37-year-old aunt’s aid.

It wasn’t just Godoy who was astonishingly close to the emergency. Remarkably, emergency officials who also just happened to be stuck in the traffic jam rushed to the scene to help the dying baby.

Sweetwater Police Officer Amauris Bastidas assisted Rauseo as best he could. While she breathed life into the baby, he pumped his chest, performing infant CPR.

“I lifted him up in the air and moved him up and down,” Bastias said.

There was a temporary moment of relief when the baby started breathing again. But it was short lived; the baby stopped breathing again.

They immediately resumed CPR. A Fire-Rescue volunteer and a police officer were also nearby and overhead the frantic scene on their radio. By the time they arrived to help, the baby was breathing on his own consistently, but weakly. He needed intensive medical care immediately.

Paramedics soon pushed their way through

damaged for processes to run smoothly and efficiently. So running the registry cleaner can solve many issues deep inside the operating system that would take hours to fix manually.

Not to mention fixing the registry manually is never a good idea because there is always a risk of corrupting a crucial “startup” configuration and then your computer will not turn on. That is why using a registry cleaner such as the one with CCleaner is a great option.

If you own a Windows PC, you probably know about trojans and other malware that can harm your computer and access personal information. CCleaner is also a great tool to fix registry problems related to malicious programs that are causing error messages and processes to be extremely slow. Applications also tend to save personal information in the registry, which could cause email addresses and passwords to be stolen if the wrong person or Trojan accesses them. Thus the registry editor can be a live saver.

CCleaner offers a number of great tools all in one place. The first tool is the easy uninstaller, which makes it easy for the user when they want to remove unwanted toolbars or other annoying programs. It tends to be much faster than manually browsing through your programs and going through the uninstall process for all of them. Another great tool is the Startup option. This basically shows every program that is set when your computer starts, and even shows what programs and processes are set to start when your web browser opens. This can slow down log in times, and make the first few minutes of logging onto your computer, or opening your web browser very slow.

The last three tools are very useful also. The File Finder tool is a great way to find files as well as check for duplicates across multiple system drives.

Then there is the System Restore tool, which shows your restore points that you have set and makes it easy for management. Lastly there is the Drive Wiper, which is a very complex tool that can wipe an entire drive efficiently and leave little trace of any data on that drive.

CCleaner is very valuable utility, and a must have for anyone with a computer. It can save a lot of headaches caused by having subpar computer performance. Also it can set the user at ease knowing that personal information in the registry will not be stolen from them by unwanted malware. So make the choice, and try CCleaner, it can make your computer world that much better.

the traffic and arrived on-scene, where they took baby Sebastian to the local hospital, Jackson Memorial Hospital. The baby remains in stable condition.

The story touched many hearts around the country. Most of all, it seemed mothers were the ones who felt the most emotional impact.

Online commenter momrules said, “God bless the child and thank God there were caring people there to help save this baby’s life.”

“Amen. I would be a basket case if that was my little boy.” Biohazard23 agreed.

“God bless the baby’s aunt, who had the presence of mind to act, despite her emotions.”

Woodyee replied.

Many people are in grateful disbelief that so many people were around to help. The chances of having so many medically-trained personnel around were extremely slim, but thankfully, angels were watching over Pamela Rauseo and her nephew Sebastian that day.

And it wasn’t just angels who had a duty to protect and save an innocent life.

“It’s my duty.” Officer Bastidas said. “It’s my duty to act.”

Doctors expect Sebastian to make a full recovery. | March 4, 2014 |5

OP&ED

L etters to

THE EDITOR

When you read the Beacon do you find yourself feeling strongly about the content? Put a pen or keyboard behind those emotions and let our editor know what you have to say. We want to hear from you!

Share your • concerns about campus • content you would like to read • feedback about written articles • thoughts about current events DEAR BEACON, was very disappointed on Tuesday that SMCC cancelled classes so late in the day. Despite the national weather service’s winter storm warning issued early Tuesday morning, SMCC didn’t acknowledge the oncoming storm until 2:30 pm when they announced that classes would be cancelled after 4:15 pm.

Why did it take so long for the school to cancel classes? Why did they decide to cancel classes once the storm was in full force?

I have a 1:30 to 4:30 Tuesday class. I live in Kittery and commute 1 hour to SMCC. Had I decided to attend class last Tuesday, I would have been released at 4:15 at the height of the blizzard.

I would have driven to Kittery in a dangerous snowstorm.

I know that Mainers are exceptional snow drivers, but why take the risk? Why release students during whiteout conditions to fend for themselves driving home on snowy roads? Knowing that a big storm was coming, wouldn’t it be wiser to cancel classes before the storm was in full swing?

SMCC should have cancelled all afternoon classes on Tuesday. I’m glad I stayed home instead of driving down 95 south at 15 mph squinting at taillights swerving in front of me for three hours.

But I’ll have to take an absence. I missed class and that will affect my grade.

I

Sincerely, Disappointed student

Welcome to the World According to Tom Perkins

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By Richard Sawyer

ut away your pitchforks folks. The rich are getting scared. It’s unfair you are demonizing the rich like you are. Apparently they’re afraid we’re going to bust into their super-sized estates and torch them down while they sleep in there giant beds. They are afraid that we are going to drag them away like this is the Holocaust, or the French Revolution, or something like that.

We need to make it up to these demonized patriots and protectors of everything that is American, because it is those poor, innocent rich people that make America what it is. The American system needs to become more equated for our rich benefactors who are always looking out for our best interest. Lets make it more like a proven reliable system they are already comfortable with. I am talking about the stock exchange and corporate boardrooms of course.

Here’s what we should do. Make a constitutional amendment that says only those who pay taxes can vote. In Fact, let’s make it so that every

6 | March 4, 2014 |

DEAR EDITOR, ith all due respect to Jason Glynn, I don’t believe his column titled “Creation vs. Evolution: The Great Debate…Still?” had any place outside of the Op/ Ed pages. It certainly didn’t have a place under the header “The Science Watchroom.” It was pure opinion and should have been distinguished as such. Contrary to popular belief, creationism isn’t without its own science. To say that believing in God means that one doesn’t agree with science is to be greatly misunderstood. If you don’t believe me just listen to a video by Kent Hovind, a young Earth creationist who backs up creationism with science. Many of the scientific greats throughout history have said that their discoveries led them to believe more deeply in God. It is arrogance to state that creationism is undoubtedly incorrect, and that the idea of evolution (not necessarily as it is) is infallible.

While Glynn may be correct in saying that creationism shouldn’t be taught in public schools, I would say, using the same argument, that evolution shouldn’t be taught in public schools. Evolution as it is, is a theory, not a proven fact as many speculate.

Again, this was meant as no disrespect to Jason Glynn. Though I disagree with most of it, it was an interesting article and very well written. However, as aforementioned, it was inappropriately placed in the Beacon’s pages. Just as words are important, likewise, so is location.

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Sincerely, Harrisen Bergeren

dollar you pay gives a vote. So if you pay one dollar, you get one vote. If you pay one million dollars, you get to cast one million votes. Fair is fair.

While we’re at it, let’s also come up with some laws that make it so we can’t speak badly about the rich either. That is a freedom of speech issue you say? I say nay. This is because all rights

State of Union, and State, a Rational Response

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By Levelheaded Larry

ur last issue had a couple of articles that looked at the recent State of the Union speech, given to Congress and the nation

by President Obama, and the State of the State address, given to our legislative chambers by our very own Governor LePage. The analysis was far off the mark, so here are my thoughts.

First, the writer was pretty adamant that raising the minimum wage was bad, but why? If you believe in the trickle-down economics then I see your point. If you’re at the top, your bank vault may take a hit. I am more for the trickle-up economics. President Obama has not been shy on tackling income inequality. He first did it from the top by continuing tax cuts for everyone but the rich. Now we need to work on the bottom. So let’s look at some facts.

America’s minimum wage has been low for many years.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), we are near the bottom of industrialized nations. Ours is currently roughly 38% of median income, it is close to 60% in the UK. The Economist points out that the last time the minimum wage was raised was back in 2009, and as a percentage of median income, it has now fallen back to 1998 levels due to inflation. This is why Mr. Obama proposed indexing the minimum wage to inflation.

The old adage referenced: work harder and get paid more, is not always true, trust me; you can ask me and nearly every other employee at the last company I worked for. We were all hard workers and when the recession hit, our wages and benefits were reduced. It is easy for a typical college-aged student to assume that outdated adage is correct, but when you’re in the real world, doing a skilledtrade like I did as a welder, it’s not always the case.

Let’s look at another aspect. A higher minimum wage has been proven to reduce turnovers and layoffs. If a company invests more in the worker, they will be less likely to furlough them.

According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) 20 states now have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage, isn’t it time we set the precedent?

Now let’s look at what Governor LePage has done for Maine. First off I must say that nearly everyone, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and others are in agreement that Maine’s economy has improved; however, you cannot credit LePage for the recovery. When LePage took office it was during the end of a prolonged recession, and the need to be applied the same way as a proper economic system is set up, with trickle down theory.

Our forefathers intended it to be this way. The super rich are obviously the only ones who are meant to have all the rights and they will let little nuggets “trickle” down to us lowly peasants…uh, I mean citizens. Who cares if those little nuggets are worthless piles of polished crap painted gold?

economy has since improved, as it would have without him at the helm.

According to Frobes, Maine’s energy costs are 31% above the national average, one has to wonder why he has been stalling on a $200 million wind-farm project. In fact, Maine has been ranked #50 in Forbes’ Best States for Business survey now three years in a row under LePage. This is unlikely to improve much since he is currently withholding $100 million in bonds that we voted for last November.

As far as the unemployment rate, we started the recession below the US average, thus we should still be below average, as we are. But don’t ask someone in northern Maine about that, as one in five residents is poor and one in three is on welfare.

According to the BLS, Maine has added about 10,500 private-sector jobs since he took office, for a growth rate of 0.91%, nearly half of the 1.98% national average. The PEW Charitable Trust published a report showing that Maine was one of 3 states to actually lose private sector jobs. The Business Journals, a compilation of regional business publications, ranked LePage at #40 out of 45 governors ranked for their job growth capabilities.

One thing he has done efficiently is attacked welfare, and further disadvantaged those already disadvantaged. According to LePage, 47% of Mainers don’t work (false) and need to “get off the couch and get a job.” Most EBT transactions take place at 3am (false), and that 12 year olds should “be able to work 40 hours.” He also backed failed legislation that would have allowed companies to pay students $5.25hr, that’s substantially under Maine’s $7.50hr minimum wage. These are just some of LePage’s welfare reform ideas.

Education, this is another issue the writer of the LePage article got wrong. Noting that LePage wanted to increase spending on education is not so accurate. He is currently withholding bonds that we voted for which would update many of our state’s colleges and universities. I will say he has been pushing the expansion of for-profit charter schools, to the detriment of our public school system.

I won’t even get into how he’s been an embarrassment to the entire state on a near-weekly basis. I am proudly one of the 61% of people that did not vote for him. Just the fact that someone can win that small of a margin and still govern over everyone shows that there are deep flaws with our system. I’m for ranked-choice voting, but that article is for another day.

If possible, every paper should present a balanced view of things, hence the method to the madness behind this article. It is always best to see both sides of an issue so you can better form your own opinion. We will have a big choice to make this fall, make it wisely.

We should be thankful for anything they give us.

I am happy that a true American patriot is standing up for what is right. Tom Perkins, a venture capitalist worth eight billion dollars has been vocal about what is really going on. At a speaking engagement he expressed his thoughts on the voting system with a stern face and no sign of sarcasm. Later he went on to write a letter published in the Wall Street Journal comparing movements like Occupy and other like sentiments to Kristallnacht—the night Nazi Germany attacked the Jewish people of Germany that lead to the Holocaust. You damn hippies and anarchists sleep in tents at city centers are just like the the Nazis.

The fact that his company, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, have distanced themselves from Tom Perkins is wrong. They should be ashamed of themselves. Excessively rich Americans everywhere should heed his call and rally to his cause. The rest of us should be with him too because after all this is what America is really all about.

So put away your pitchforks and extinguish your torches people. Embrace the rich people’s dominion over you. This is what the American feudal system is supposed to look like…I mean the American democratic system is supposed to look like.

The author would not be offended if you mistakenly thought he was on drugs while writing this.

OP&ED No Music Venue For Bug Light

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By Richard Sawyer

he Liberty Ship Pavilion is simply a bad idea for South Portland and even worse idea for SMCC.

As a music lover, I think the concept of a music venue in South Portland is great. The venue will over look the water in the direction of Portland. It would probably be one of the most beautiful permanent outdoor venues anywhere.

What artist wouldn’t want to come to such perfect backdrop? It would also have the potential of funneling a lot more money into the area.

So far it sounds irresistible. Now for the reality of the situation. To start with the plan only calls for a venue for a one hundred-fifty parking spaces. This is a venue that is going to be able to hold 10,000 plus employees and the artist’s buses and crew. One hundred-fifty spaces is not nearly enough parking for that many people. So where is does the developer plan on making up for the difference?

At SMCC of course.

The parking situation is already strained enough as it is. Now imagine that the promoter

for the Liberty Ship Pavilion books a couple shows in the last week of August or early September. These are still key parts of the summer touring season and can be huge money making packages for promoters. The school could of course say no all together, but there will still be concertgoers trying to use the parking lots anyway. If the school says yes there will be large attributed costs such as extra security, extra maintenance that the school already does not have.

Even if the owners of the Pavilion pay for it, it is simply too much of a headache for a school that is already straining for resources.

As far as South Portland goes; the city’s infrastructure can barely handle the congestion at peak hours going to and from SMCC. The way the city has evolved this end of town has made it incompatible to that amount of movement. Last years bomb scare showed a glimpse of how bad traffic could get. The same kind of exodus would happen after every concert. That means a large drain to city resources if the police have to direct and mange traffic. Regular traffic like this would also slow down emergency response time along that stretch of Broadway and completely cutting off the entire neighborhood of Ferry Village.

That only touches on the major issues. That doesn’t even include numerous problems with the venue itself. The simple fact is that this would be devastating to the city of South Portland and bad for Southern Maine Community College. This half brained idea needs to be stopped.

Bouncing off of the Presidents Blog

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By Xavior Hanson

ot long ago President Cantor in his blog asked students to “Speak Up”, so with the best of intentions, here it goes.

The Atlantic recently published an article written by Ann Hulbert. In her article she pointed out an issue that hits really close to home, especially here at SMCC. She said:

“In urban community colleges like the Borough of Manhattan Community College, the national three-year graduation rate is 16 percent.

Nationwide, barely more than a third of community-college enrolees emerge with a certificate or degree within six years.”

The reason for this, as she points out later, is a lack of concreteness, guidance, and direction for students. She makes the point that at a large number of four year colleges, students have to go to school full time, they have a team of advisors, and plenty of direction. As for most Community Collages, students who are non-traditional, have a much more fluid experience, to try to accommodate their work/families.

What might be a solution to this problem?

ASAP! “ASAP (Accelerated Study in Associate Programs) is designed to help motivated community college students earn their degrees as quickly as possible, with a goal of graduating at least 50% of students within three years. Due to a variety of stresses and responsibilities, too many community college students are not able to complete their Associate degrees in a timely manner, if at all. ASAP helps to eliminate these stresses by providing select community college students with the academic, social, and financial support they need to graduate with an Associate in Arts or Associate in Applied Science degree in no more than three years. Key ASAP program features include a consolidated block schedule, cohorts by major, small class size, required fulltime study and comprehensive advisement and

career development services. Financial incentives include tuition waivers for financial aid eligible students and free use of textbooks and monthly Metrocards for all students.” –CUNY

This program was developed and is running in New York. It is highly effective, and is currently exceeding its goal of a three year 50% graduation rate. That is the perfect example of not accepting status quo.

Quoted from Pres. Cantor, “Let’s work together to raise levels of persistence and achievement so that skills and knowledge will increase.”

Respectfully, is the Maine Community College System working to introduce or utilize invaluable programs (such as ASAP), to further progress this campus?

When President Cantor said, “Too often we avoid saying what must be said, doing what must be done and changing what must be changed.”

One would hope that description could not be attributed to SMCC. One could easily be 100% with Pres. Cantor in his statement, “there really are people and institutions with the courage to move forward and succeed. Let’s be those people, let’s be one of those institutions.” Yes, let us be the innovators and upward movers, the thinkers and doers, here at SMCC.

from

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

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By Jason Glynn

ell it’s almost break time, are you all ready? I know I am. This semester has been screaming by, and for me things are only going to get busier. I know one thing though; I am looking forward to the Beacon’s coverage of Maine’s gubernatorial race! There are some exciting things going on behind the curtain and I can’t wait to share more with you!

A few columns back I announced our support and adoption of Reporters Without Borders, and there have been some recent events in the news that make this an even more relevant issue. If you turn on the news you will see reports of various crackdowns on journalists across the globe.

One of the most information-repressing countries, Iran, has recently made news again.

The pro-reformist Aseman, or Sky newspaper, was recently shut down and its Managing Editor has been imprisoned for allegedly insulting Islam. The offending article merely questioned the inhumanness of Iran’s penal code, based largely on the principle of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’

In Venezuela, USA-based Cable News Network, or CNN, had their press credentials revoked over their coverage of the growing anti-government protests happening there. Venezuela’s President, Nicholas Maduro, criticized their coverage and blasted them for inciting violence. However, a day after revoking credentials and saying they had to “get out,” he let them stay. CNN reporters covering the protests also had their television equipment stolen at gunpoint last week. President Maduro also shuttered the main opposition newspaper and arrested the opposition party’s leader, Leopoldo Lopez.

The host of this year’s Winter Olympics, Russia, has also been heavy handed on censorship lately. They are now attempting to close Dozhd TV, Rain TV in Russian, one of the last independent channels left. Most media outlets are now directly controlled by the Kremlin. According to the New

York based Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), at least 16 investigative reporters have been murdered in the last decade and 13 of those cases have never been solved.

Egypt, a country that has seen years of recent turmoil, has stepped up its media crackdown lately. During the short-lived presidency of Muslim Brotherhood leader, Muhammad Morsi, the crackdown targeted anti-Brotherhood supporters, but since after the military coup that removed President Morsi the Brotherhood has found their media outlets as the targets. The CPJ rates Egypt as the 3rd worst place for journalists, right behind Syria and Iraq. Three Al-Jazeera journalists, an Australian and two Egyptians, are now on trial in Egypt for allegedly being involved with terrorists and disseminating false information. There are a total of twenty journalists charged in the massive case.

Meanwhile in America, the organization we

adopted, Reporters Without Borders, dropped us a few notches on their annual Freedom Index. This index uses a variety of markers to rank countries according to press freedoms. We dropped a total of 13 slots, to 46th out of 180 countries listed; our drop is largely associated with our crackdown on whistleblowers. Leading the pack on the index was Finland and Norway, with Eritrea and North Korea bringing up the rear. Also equally disconcerting was the recent proposed study by our FCC that would have let government researchers into newsrooms so they could quiz staff on how they decide what stories to cover.

As all of these events show our freedom of speech is always under pressure and needs defenders. We support press freedom worldwide and groups that fight to ensure it by exploiting countries that try to squander it. We are the people, and we will be heard!

SALT: the earliest form of currency Don’t forget to sign up for SALT. WE CAN HELP YOU

√ Keep track of your student loans √ Get loan advice from expert counselors √ Search for scholarships √ Learn how to save money wisely, and more visit www.

saltmoney.org

/smcc to sign up today,

and make sure to list SMCC as your school to access exclusive benefits. | March 4, 2014 |7

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They’ve Fallen Through the Cracks of the Passed Down Story: Minesweeper

M

by Patrick Doyle

any cats have teetered on the fence across my sight, but only some still have my mind’s moonlight playing backup singer and stagehand.

One of these cats is a guy who frequent my vice hocking store clerk job. When I met him, he greeted me by yelling for price checks on labeled items while headphones beamed away over the ice machine and fans. I told him the prices in a loud voice but by the forth time I just pulled the earphone away from him and said it. I hoped this would get him to mime but no.

Even in such an infant stage of exposure, I knew I’d a card in a usually transparent deck. Over time, my admiration for him increased; not because I knew which cigarettes and energy drinks he liked, but because he asked me my name and never forgot it. That meant a lot to me, no one at that job had much noticed me, let alone cared to know my Catholic name. It became an expected thing, he’d come in and if I was working and eyesight, he’d say in his exasperated, I’m-seeing-pink-elephants voice, “Hi Patrick,” to which I’d return the greeting.

One night a week I work alone for the second half of my shift and he’d come in. I’d usually be reading and he’d say hello. What prompted it escapes me but he started telling me about a video game he’d been working on. I asked what he was playing and nearly insulted he told me he was making a game. I’ve never met a game designer, not one who had discussions about Black Sabbath’s Dio period (ugh . . .) to no one out front of the store. He told me he was working on making Minesweeper and had been consulting books, learning codes and techniques to improve his skills.

I was impressed. We yakety-yak’d about it for what felt like a while and then he had to leave.

He bought three energy drinks, cigarettes, gummy worms (he hated the sour ones because of the word

“Neon Crawlers”) and candied cherry slices. He called it his groceries. Ripping the plastic off the smokes he said, “Say Patrick, can you throw this trash away for me? I don’t wanna throw it in the street like I always do.”

Two weeks later he told me he liked talking to me so much he wished people didn’t come in and interrupt. I agreed. He told me Minesweeper was over. He was now working on a maze game. His college years and girls were touched upon briefly, and then as if something he’d forgotten -- maybe a code for a game he’d overlooked -- became known to him, he left abruptly, but not without saying goodbye first.

Anyway, this fellow is a Dickensian man who remembered my name and was always very pleasant to me. Sometimes he’d load up on his groceries and just leave piles of candy, American cheese, eggs and bread on the counter, talking to me about choices and managing his budget. “What am I up to now?” he’d say. I’d tell him the amount and his wide, popping eyes would think quickly about his personal finances, sometimes just putting things away. He’d even ask what I thought was important to buy at the time. He had me cut his credit card in half with scissors because he got sick of having it. I saved him discount cigarettes so he could save a buck further.

I looked forward to seeing him. A lot -- not all -- of my transactions are with people who wished they got one of the female employees instead of me, which made them very quickly go through the process, as if to distance them selves from me ASAP. Not “Minesweeper,” as I’ve come to call him sometimes.

Actually, I saw him tonight. He told me it’d been some time since he’d last seen me and that he was glad. He bought his usual alongside some “stocking stuffer” scratch tickets. Oh, and the Maze game got finished a while ago. Now he is into Pitfall, learning more codes he feels happy about and I wonder what will be in store for him next.

Interested in playing softball?

If so contact Julia Howe at jhowe@smccme.edu or call 207.741.5928

H

by Kora O. Han

ey there, Homies! How’s everybody been doing? Well, I’m doing splendidly. Can’t wait for this week to be over and enjoy Spring break! But first I’ve got two philosophy mid-term tests, a four page essay, and four more days of drudgery. Much work, so fun, fantastic essay, hurray. Fortunately, I will still be able to answer your thoughts, concerns, and questions over Spring break so continue to email me at kora.o.h@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

Kora,

Remember me, Sufferer In Silence, from your previous column? Well, I told my best friend the secret that I have kept from him since four months ago and he went completely ballistic! He refused to take any of my calls, texts or replied to my Facebook messages.

I’m really hurt now and wished that I had not him anything.

SISAgain Dearest Sis,

I’m truly sorry that you are hurting right now. I wished for things to be a whole lot different than it is. However, there is also no point crying over spilt milk. You had done what you needed to do and no longer have the weight of guilt in your heart. Hopefully, your friend will come around soon but you too, need to make amends with this dilemma. This too shall pass, my friend. In the meantime, say your last apology, and let the issue rest. Life goes on.

Kora!

I can hear Spring Break is calling my name from the not so distant future and I can’t wait for next week to end! I have tests coming up next week but I can’t seem to concentrate.

Any advice to concentrate better?

SpringBreaker Hey SpringBreaker,

You made me smile just reading your

excitement (: Well, you know how the adage goes, “You work hard, you play hard”. I’d say play harder but I think I’ll reserve that for Summer Vacation. This is college, where every test and every paper counts, so you have to make the most out of everything that comes your way. Look at it this way, after next week; you get a week’s worth of freedom/ fun in the sun/ road trip/whatever your plans are for Spring Break. That’s the end goal. But right now, Mathematics, English, Psychology, Chemistry, etc. is your best friend.

Good grades in tests and a well-written paper ensure a better time later. Try studying in a conducive environment, like a quiet place or room free of distractions, like the quiet rooms at the Academic Achievement Centre in the library or form a study group with like-minded people who are able to influence you to study smarter and better. So keep that cellphone away and give ‘em hell, kid.

Sup, Kora?

Got any plans for spring break yet? I’ve been trying to plan something but I’m running out of time and ideas. Working and studying at the same time is not an easy feat. I don’t have much time for myself.

Charlie G. Hey there Charlie,

You know what? That’s exactly how I feel.

But that’s exactly why we need a break after Mid-terms. It gives us time to wind down and recuperate before starting all over again for the next half of the semester. It’s a little bit expensive to fly out to Florida or anywhere warm right now, but how about considering a short road trip to somewhere you’ve never been before? Just hop in your car, crank up the heat, and drive South or West or North. Alternatively, stay here and hang out, reconnect with friends and family. Or trying something different and take a short trip to Boston and discover Chinatown, eating chow mein with a pair of chopsticks. All that matters is that you get the rest you need and have fun while doing so. As for me, I’m planning to catch some zzzs. Well, that’s the first thing I’ll do anyway.

It’s new, just for you.

www.thesmccbeacon.wordpress.com 8 | March 4, 2014 |

ARTS&features The Concert Diaries A Night with Andy McKee

S

By Garrick Hoffman

unday, November 10th, 2013, was my birthday (sounds of party horns). My ex-girlfriend and I were to go see my favorite solo instrumental acoustic guitarist, Andy McKee, in New Hampshire. He had posted on his Facebook that he would take requests for upcoming shows on his tour, and so I submitted my own, wanting to hear his songs “Hunter’s Moon” and his cover of Tears For Fears’ “Everybody Wants To Rule The World.”

Indeed, the date that he was playing closest to my hometown was the same one as my birthday.

My favorite kind of coincidence, and convenience!

So with this in mind, I figured I’d milk the cow when I submitted my request on his Facebook, and mentioned that I would be seeing him on my birthday. He didn’t respond, but that’s okay because he’s a busy dude with scores of other fans barraging his Facebook page. We had seen him once before, and he hadn’t played either of those two songs, much to my dismay, although any night with Andy McKee is one I cherish.

We got there late. I was not impressed with myself because of this. I could hear music playing when we arrived. I became a little panicky and anxious to get inside; we had already missed God knows how many songs. I looked through the window from outside and there he was on stage, already wowing the audience with one of his magnificent tunes. I picked up the pace and urged my girlfriend to do the same. Any song missed was a calamity, I assure you.

We entered. The dark had befallen the venue, save the warm, inviting multitude of neon lights of purple and red and blue. He was near the terminus of his song “For Now” off of his album Joyland.

I thought, Dammit! How much have we already missed?! Well, according to the staff member who greeted us at the door, about half a dozen.

First famine, now this.

But then things got interesting, and I realized we were actually, in a sense, just in time. I asked a nearby attendee if Andy had already played my requested tunes, to which he said no, he hadn’t.

When Andy introduced the next song, he said it was off of his album Joyland (sweet), and it was a song called “Hunter’s Moon” (double sweet).

I got all kinds of giddy. We had just made it in time. It would have been an odious tragedy to miss this. And he played it, and he rocked the shit out with all of those percussive slaps and pretty harmonics and so on.

Yep, loving life right now.

The following songs didn’t stay in my memory, at least in terms of their order. He joked of showing off, then proceeded to don his harp guitar, saying, “speaking of showing off!” The crowd laughed. And yes, you read it right, a harp guitar.

It’s a standard acoustic guitar whose standard-ness is completely decimated by the integral - not attached - harp on the top of the guitar. It contains six bass-like strings that are plucked within the playing of the actual guitar.

“Yep, this harp-guitar belongs to one of the six harp guitarists in the world,” he joked. With this contraption in hand, he played “Into The Ocean” and “Gates of Gnomeria,” two songs that I was listening to in my earliest days of discovering him.

“Gates” had always been one of my favorites, and it sounded crazy good live.

Then he strapped on his normal acoustic guitar (I say normal, but it’s custom made with the frets oddly slanted to his liking, presumably to accommodate to his style of playing). Then the famous words were announced. He described the next song as a song from his album Joyland, a cover of a song from the ’80s from a band called Tears For Fears. As soon as he said “a song from the ’80s,” I had already, somehow, known it’d be “Everybody,” rather than his cover of Toto’s “Africa”, which is equally amazing.

Then:

“So this next one is for Garrick.”

A very audible “WOO!!!” from my girlfriend next to me, followed by a more embarrassed/modest “WOO!” from me.

“Happy birthday! It’s today, right?”

“Yes, it is. Thanks man!”

“No problem! Glad to make you happy.”

I doubt you can get that from Metallica, or Taylor Swift, or Lil’ Wayne, etc…

He finished up his set, playing songs like “Ebon Coast,” “Nakawaga-san,” “Tight Trite Nite” - another cover - and more. We had missed his “flagship” song, “Drifting,” which has come to earn nearly 50 million views on YouTube. It’s the song that instantly hooked me into his music. The rest is

history.

After his encores, Andy mentioned that he’d be in the room at the far end of the venue if anyone cared to meet him, say hi, get an autograph, etc.

So we did, amongst a sizeable band of other fans.

For the second time I was able to interact with him, and he signed the CD of his that I had just purchased. I asked him how I could support him to the maximum when he releases his EP, and he said he’d announce the ways to do so when the time comes. We got a picture of the three of us, I gave him a story of mine that I wrote about a tear jerking, yet euphoric experience I had listening to one of his songs, and the evening was then concluded.

I walked to the car with my girlfriend in enormous jubilation (although I was slightly morose for having forgotten to get another hug from him…curse the gods of memory!).

Later in the show he had given another shout out to someone in the crowd, a man named Mike, who apparently had also submitted a request. I didn’t feel less special at all; I still felt profoundly elated, still singled out, still just happy to hear my name spoken into the microphone from a man whose music I have come to treasure for the last five years.

It didn’t seem to be Mike’s birthday, but Andy still gave him, his fan, the recognition, which seems something so rare to me from a musician or any artist maybe. It’s a breath of fresh air, and I feel that an artist like him is a gem in this world. Because that’s what any fan wants: to be singled out and identified, to know they aren’t just a ghost in the crowd, in the pool of hundreds or thousands or millions of other fans, although I know this isn’t always an easy task for big-name musicians.

They - no, we - want to be appreciated, because we give our appreciation by supporting that artist. We want to go to a show and make direct eye contact with, or pointed out by our heroes on stage; we want to be recognized that we are here with them, rocking out and enjoying the experience together. That we’re as unified as any army in the world, and we’ll pump our fists in the air together to prove it.

And Andy accomplished that that night, and that’s why he has come to be so highly revered as a musician and a human being. He’s loved and appreciated for such deep and frequent interaction with his fans. He’s humble and modest, he’s extraordinarily talented, he’s warm and approachable, and he wants people to feel he’s a human like them, that we’re all living in this same space together and that no one is inferior, or superior to one another.

He’s just invested more time into his craft than others.

That’s the kind of musician I’m dedicated to.

Targeted Writing Sessions

I think I have kidney

Failure

HOW IS IT WORKING OUT FOR ME.

vague pop By Kate Kolbjornsen and Patrick Doyle

reckless zen when in a

Sabbath became

clear Cream

frauds

Debauchery got the best of me

When I say debauchery

y’all s ay

Debauchery (

!

!)

Stood in line, bought tickets, couldn’t

make the gig

By Patrick Doyle Here is a collaboration between two

T

he Writing Across the Curriculum Committee is excited to offer the following half-hour information sessions on different aspects of academic writing and reading. All sessions will be held in the Writing Center area down the right hallway from the entrance to the Academic Achievement Center (within the Library). The sessions are free and open to students, faculty, and staff. No reservations necessary. Stop by and sharpen your skills!

What’s Your Point?

Amy Havel Effective Thesis Statements 12:30-1pm Wednesday, March 5

Blending Source Materials Mike Bove with Your Own Writing 1:30-2pm Tuesday, March 18

Rewriting: Polishing the Essay Kate Woodbury Wednesday, April 9 2-2:30pm

Formatting Research: Robert Vettese Citations and Quotations 11:30am-12noon Thursday, April 17

artistes out of SMCC; one of us doesn’t go here anymore and one does. You can probably figure out who does and who don’t but regardless here is a poem we did really late at night.

Didcha know Dr. Seuss

did erotic pics THIS Exploited flag Oi!

?

PUT UP LOOKS

smashing in thewindow

DON’T TELL ME THE WEATHER IT’S BAD JUJU

Shakeweight = The Decline of Western Civilization

I survived

the Ice Storm of ‘98.

We call the nicest person in our

collective group M other G oose .

| March 4, 2014 |9

ARTS&features Framing Space and Time: Jim Murray’s Wall Reliefs at Bard Coffee

Sabering Hollywood RoboCop (2014)

By Jennifer Connor

By Sabra Schirm

J

W

im Murray’s recent show Framing Space at Bard Coffee on Middle Street in Portland is a series of unusual wooden wall sculptures.

The 22” by 44” sculptures composed entirely of wood consist of ladder like staircases, clocks, and doorways. The series while interesting from a distance is more alluring when viewed in close proximity and from different points of view. The geometric sequence of the doors and ladders share equal space in the composition while the use of different woods generates eye movement with the many lights and darks found throughout. The organic grain and natural hues of the different woods create an interesting background pattern in each piece. The growth rings that create the grain seem to be a reference to time. The ladders cast interesting shadows and together with the platforms provide access to the eleven doors on each piece. While all the doors have tiny nails for doorknobs none are shown open.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JENNIFER CONNOR

and location of these higher dimensions. Time is unique to all of us, and it carries on in any and all dimensions independently to everything around it.

In contemplating the sculptures I kept wondering what was theoretically behind these doors?

Further along this line of questioning I wondered why all the doors in all of the pieces were closed?

And what was the motivation behind these works?

There is a quiet intrigue about the sculptures and after viewing for quite some time I reached out to Jim about his work and it led to this interview.

JC: What was your inspiration behind the series at Bard Coffee and what are you trying to communicate with this body of work??

JM: My inspiration for this series is String Theory. Quantum Mechanics and Relativity (Gravity) need String Theory which is a ‘theory of everything’ that suggests we live in a Universe that has 11 dimensions. I refer to these 11 dimensions with 11 doors. I also use the number 11 in the designing each of these pieces as they all measure 22 inches x 44 inches. The whimsical ladders and stairs help allude to our uncertainty of the size

JC: What type of wood did you use for these pieces?

JM: This series is constructed with a large combination of wood: Cherry, Ash, Walnut, Poplar, and numerous types of Oak. JC: I noticed that all of the doors are closed, is there significance to this?

JM: We haven’t opened the doors to other dimensions yet. It is more about how we get from one to the next.

JC: What is your preferred medium to work in?

JM: I have poured metal, and done my fair share of metal work. But I truly feel at home in the wood shop, inhaling sawdust from the many types of wood I prefer to use now.

JC: What creative patterns, routines, or rituals do you have?

JM: I derive my inspiration, and source material from scientific documentaries. My creativity is as such I do a number of sketches that are inspired from physics and the Universe. Then I use my sketches as creative guidelines, where I prepare my materials in the wood shop. Then I assemble and finish the designs in my studio, usually with

more scientific pod casts or other informative radio chatter is play in the background.

JC: What would you tell your student’s is most important in living as an artist and promoting their art?

JM: Honesty with ones self is my advice to all artists. Honesty will help you learn and grow. If you do not put in an honest effort with your work then you are not going to succeed. Everything we do we learn from, and the more we create the better we get. Honesty will always push you in the right direction whether it is when applying to venues to display your work or helping you realize where you are ready to show your work.

JC: Do you have any upcoming shows or commission pieces you would like to tell us about?

JM: I am currently waiting to hear back about a potential show in a museum at a college outside of New York City. I have submitted a five-foot tall wooden sculpture based on gravity to their exhibit based on artistic expressions based on the natural world.

James Murray received his BA in Studio Arts from the State University of New York at Potsdam and his MFA in Sculpture from Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. He is an instructor in the Art Department who teaches Woodworking Sculpture and 3D Design I in the Associates degree program. He also teaches Watercolor Painting and Professionally Presenting Artwork in the Continuing Education Program here at SMCC.

Album Review Deceiver of the Gods

F

By Nicholas James Miller

ueled by a savage adrenaline, an army of fans stand with their fists to the sky, facing the stage, overwhelmed with excitement. Eight hours have passed since our arrival to the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Even after an entire day of moshing to every song we had heard that day before, we had felt more alive and alert than we’d been in our entire lives.

The curtains open to reveal a menacing, but alluring Viking warship to us all. Its eyes glow red, like the fires of Hell, smoke and fire fly from the head ornament, carefully carved into the shape of a vicious sea serpent. The sky grows dark, thunder pierces the air, and Amon Amarth, the melodic Viking Metal band from the cold reaches of Northern Europe take the stage.

The cry of electric guitars in perfect harmony starts the show, followed by a menacing growl that could only be described as brutally breath taking. Johan Hegg keeps us all in sheer awe until the chorus of the first song

10 | March 4, 2014 |

“Twilight of the Thunder God.” The deafening roars of thunder in the back seem to match the beat of the drums as he yells “Thor! Odin’s son, protector of mankind! Rise to meet your fate! Your destiny awaits!” With my mind blown and my body shaking, I was instantly a fan.

That concert was in July of 2013. Since then, I’ve bought most of the band’s albums.

Most recently their latest work, “Deceiver of the Gods.” Combining their roots from the signature Northern European metal sound with the modern day trends of mainstream melodic death metal. The band brings together a barrage of harmonic guitar riffs, memorable drum rhythms, and a vocal topper that makes me feel like I’m steering a Viking warship when I drive around town listening to the CD.

Out of all of their work I’ve listened to, I’d say this 10track album is by far their best one yet. While listening to the album at my home menial tasks become an adventure of their own. My typical dinner of ramen noodles and canned vegetables turns into a banquet fit for a king. Cleaning my house becomes a raging battle against dust and grime,

and playing video games? A gallant adventure the likes of which that has never been seen before. There are only five band members, but it feels like a savage Viking tribe is raiding my eardrums, and making them their own. I must say, it’s pretty darn awesome.

As an avid music listener and critic, I always am searching for new bands that push the norm and really stand out. The more unique and original they are than other bands on the market the better. With so many older bands selling out, and with so many newer band’s material written by corporations, it becomes difficult for someone with a passion for music like myself to see true talent for what it really is.

Amon Amarth is the first band to bring a new generation towards the legends of old, both from Norse Mythology, to our Scandinavian ancestors. It’s definitely an album you will listen to over and over again. If you are someone who loves the repeat value of an album, and a sound that you haven’t heard before, this is definitely the album for you. I’d recommend picking up a copy today.

hether you were born in the 80s or the 90s, chances are that you’ve at least heard of, if not seen, the original RoboCop. This is a film that has been a part of the cultural consciousness for a long, long time.

While not exactly a masterpiece, the 1987 original, starring Peter Weller in the title role, has a massive, extremely loyal cult following, of which I am a member.

This is, in a nutshell, the inherent danger of remaking classic movies, cult or otherwise. The film-maker runs the risk of confusing, or annoying a fan who also happens to be a film reviewer and/or critic. So, while I will try to give this movie a fair and unbiased review, chances are that my critique will be heavily colored by my love of the original.

RoboCop set in 2028 Detroit, revolves around a good cop and loving family man Alex Murphy, who is fatally injured in the line of duty. OmniCorp, this film’s less than subtle Big Brother proxy, uses this opportunity to turn the injured cop into a RoboCop, hence the title, by melding what remains of his human body with weapons tech. It is, in all, a very familiar plot line for anyone who has seen the original.

Though RoboCop is a remake versus whatever the hell The Monuments Men was supposed to be, it is a film that equally suffers from a serious case of “what is the point?” This is bad enough in an original, but deadly for a remake.

With a remake, you already have a story there, with characters, and background, and dialogue.

In theory, there should be very few ways to do a remake wrong.

Sadly, more often than not, remakes are, in fact, done wrong. Too often, you tend to see one of two flawed approaches. Either the director does a flat copy of “The Interesting Thing” (hero, monster, villain, etc), or he (or she) goes on a “anything you can do, I can do better” ego trip with the material, which is usually, frame-forframe, the same film. Refer to the 1998 Psycho remake to see what I’m getting at with this.

This film takes the third, no less tricky, approach to a film remake. The basic plot line remains the same, but with nifty, shiny updates.

This would have been a fantastic approach for director Jose Padilha to take this remake, had he been willing to take the story and really run with it. Perhaps Padilha was held back by the studio producers, perhaps by fear of the rage of rabid fans.

Whatever the case, this film doesn’t quite reach the level it needs to to really work. It is, admittedly, a better film than I was expecting for a remake, but no less disappointing for its failure to follow through. Thus, we come back to “what is the point?” Whether it was the director, or the producers who didn’t want to take it to that next level, I can’t say, but I have to ask: Why remake such a classic futuristic sci-thriller if you aren’t going to whip out your big guns, so to speak? Why bother? Though I hope that the answer would have more to do with time and script issues than merely cashing in on a famous classic, I remain dubious.

All my fan disappointment and confusion aside, there is something wonderful to be said for the casting in RoboCop. We have Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Jackie Earle Haley, and Samuel L. “MUTHAH FUQQUN” Jackson all sharing screen time, and it’s a beautiful sight to see. This cast is, most definitely, something that this film got very, very right.

These brilliant actors made me want to like this movie, made me want to give it a chance to shine. Had they been any less brilliant than they are, I would have probably given up hope and failed this film outright for being “just another remake.”

All my fan flailing and bafflement over the “Whys” of this movie aside, it is a very hard film to rate. On the one hand, being a fan of the original makes it very hard not to slap it with a dismissive “one star” for even existing. On the other hand, this was a much better film that I was expecting, even when it failed to follow through.

In the end, I give it 3 stars out of 5, and tentatively recommend you go see it and be the judge, yourself.

SMCCsports For the Cape Closet!

On the 17th-19th of March the SMCC Service Club will be collecting

gently used prom dresses

to donate to Cape Closet.

Cape Closet redistributes

the dresses for free to girls

in the Greater Portland area

to use for their proms in May. While you are home

over break consider digging

again.

The Seawolves began to chip away at a larger lead in the end of 2nd half with help again from Jose Nouchanthavong who is a familiar name in Hub Gymnasium, leading the Seawolves with 25 points and 6 steals in this contest. After a few great passes by SMCC’s Dj Johnson the Seawolves eventually won the game by a final score of 89 to 71. University of Maine Augusta was lead by Keith Chesley who had 25 points 9 rebounds and went 10 for 10 from the free throw line.

On Saturday February 22nd SMCC Lady Seawolves faced University of Maine at Augusta with the winner advancing to play CMCC in the championship game. The Lady Seawolves had beaten UMA both times during the regular season. SMCC would fall short of sweeping UMA this year.

Again SMCC opened up the game with sluggish play while managing to stay in contention with the Lady Moose. The score was 15-10 halfway through the first half.

Over the course of the last 10 minutes of the 1st half, the Lady Seawolves did manage to score 20 points however SMCC while holding the Lady Moose to 16 points walking into halftime trailing by 1pt. Maria Veino lead scorers in the first half with 15 points out of 30 for the Lady Seawolves. Absent from the scoring column was Jaimi Poland and Danielle McCusker.

The opening of the 2nd half saw UMA score the first 4 points which they maintained until 15 minutes to go with a 40-35 lead. Neither team really made a move in this contest as the lead fluctuated between 5 and 8 points until SMCC tied the game at the 8:47 mark the score being tied at 47.

Over the next 2 minutes UMA maintained a fluctuating slim lead until SMCC tied the score again with 6:27 remaining on Esther Palmieri’s layup. After Lee Arreonte gave UMA a 2 point lead Danielle McCusker drained a 3pt basket giving SMCC their first lead in the game with a 58-57 lead. SMCC padded the lead at 61-57 at the 5:48 mark which they could not maintain as UMA fought back tying the game at 61-61.

After Lee Arreonte tied the game at 61, Danielle McCusker put SMCC in the lead again with a layup which was answered by an Arreonte 3pt jump shot giving UMA a 64-63 lead. Nyalieb Deng answered with a layup of her own putting SMCC in the lead again 65-64 which was again answered by UMA’s Arreonte.

UMA would not trail SMCC for the final 2 minutes and 33 seconds of the game, capping off a victory and earning the right to play CMCC in the championship game.

Arreonte of UMA lead all scorers in the game with a whopping 30 points and tallied 5 rebounds while SMCC was lead in the game by Danielle McCusker with 17 points.

The Final Four matchup in the YSCC tournament was between the SMCC Seawolves and the Fighting Saints of the College of Saint Joseph in Vermont. This game was a struggle offensively for SMCC early as St. Joseph started the game on a 16-4 run and really never looked back in the first half.

St Joseph guard Dee Anderson started off

the game great going 6 for 9 in the first half with 13 points and many flashy finishes at the rim.

One of the biggest problems for SMCC in this game was them getting outrebounded. The Fighting Saints out rebounded the Seawolves 27 to 7 in the first half which resulted into many more opportunities for St Joseph.

The Fighting Saints finished the first half shooting 51% from the field to SMCC’s 29% from the field with a score of 45-24 Fighting Saints. Coach Matt Richards of SMCC knew his kids could play better in the 2nd half and it defiantly showed.

The play of the bench was huge for the Seawolves in the 2nd half. Atencio Martin scored 12 of his 14 points in the 2nd half along with strong play from Justin Robbins who had 9 in the half.

The Seawolves brought the score back within 10 points with about 3 minutes left in the game with a steal and finish from Scott Proudman and huge three pointer by Martin. This was pretty good for the Seawolves who once were down by 22 in the game. You could see the start of a comeback with about 7 minutes to go in the game when SMCC guard Justin Robbins sank an athletic layup and the foul. This got the team going and led them into this comeback.

This Surge by SMCC didn’t last though, as they ran out of time in the game and eventually fell losing 79-65. College of Saint Joseph was lead

by Michael Bowlers who had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Kashean Alston who came off then bench with 11 points and 14 rebounds. They will go on to face CMCC in the championship game.

SMCC was lead by Jose Nouchanthavong who had 17 points in the contest.

This was an all in all great effort by our Seawolves and nothing to be ashamed. They fought until the end with great play from the whole team. They finish the season with 21 wins and 9 losses.

Elite Action at HUB (continued from Page 1)

19-8 record in her first year as head coach. Unity College brought home Team Sportsman of the Year Award.

Complete first and second team roasters, as well as photos from the banquet can be found on the YSCC web site.

The Beacon Sports Staff would also like to congratulate Arreonte Lee from University of Maine-Augusta who joined the 1,000pt club in the semi-final game against SMCC. Arreonte and her fellow Lady Moose will travel to Uniontown and participate in the finals as they received an at-large invite to the tournament.

All in all, the YSCC and the SMCC Athletic Department should have a solid sense of pride for putting together an action packed event and wonderful 4 days of basketball. One does have to wonder though, considering the level of competition and play that was on display throughout the tournament, why absence of any major media coverage? Regardless, the YSCC Elite 8 tournament will be returning to SMCC after stops at CMCC and NHTI. Basketball enthusiast from the greater Portland area have much to look forward to.

prom

lead. Palmieri hit both from the line giving the Seawolves a 2pt lead, 60-58. NHTI Lady Lynx would not score again in the contest as the Lady Seawolves avoided a scare winning the game 63-58.

The Seawolves were led by Danielle McCusker who finished the game with 22 points along with 8 rebounds. Nyalieb Deng also played a big role with a double double netting 13 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

NHTI was led by Allura LeBlanc who had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Lynx.

Sara Romano played unselfishly for the Lynx scoring 18 points to go along with 8 assists.

On Friday, February 21st, Southern Maine Community College men started their first YSCC Elite 8 action in Hub Gymnasium against the Moose of the University of Maine at Augusta.

The tip was won by UMA and they held close in the beginning of the 1st half with back and forth buckets by both teams.

Guard Scott Proudman, however helped get SMCC off to a lead midway through the 1st half with his up tempo play on the defensive end.

This up tempo play was contagious to the rest of the Seawolves throughout this contest and the defense played a huge role throughout the game.

“I think we did a great job putting pressure on UMA at every position and that translated into great offense”, Said SMCC player Atencio Martin.

At the 7 minute mark in the 1st half, an all around scrappy play led to a flagrant foul call and ejection of guard Jesse Smith of UMA. This didn’t have some of the UMA fans in the stands very happy to see their player leave the gym. The refs however got the call correct. The ejection was made because an elbow was thrown above the chest, towards the head of a SMCC player Josh Gormley which results in automatic ejection in college basketball ruling. This got both crowds going, towards the end of this half and resulted in a good atmosphere.

With a minute to go in the half, Josh Gormley checked back in after getting an elbow to the head. Immediately on his first possession, Gormley was diving on the floor again showing his heart to win and getting the steal and ball back for his team. The first half ended with tough battle by both squads with a score of 39-30, Seawolves leading.

SMCC’s Atencio Martin started the 2nd half off strong along with guard Jose Nouchanthavong who both hit big 3 pointers at the beginning of the half. It was then followed by another big play by Martin, who had a steal, and emphatic slam dunk to cap off the fast break.

“Dunking is always an energy booster. It seemed to get everyone amped up. I was just happy to add to what the team had already started”, Said Martin. This play was a key momentum builder for the Seawolves. Martin finished the game with 9 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

With about 15 minutes to go in the 2nd the momentum switches for a short time into Umaine Augusta’s hands. Guard Keith Chesley for UMA hit 3 straight 3 point field goals to bring his team back within single digits of SMCC. This got SMCC coach Matt Richards fired up to amp up his teams play on the defensive end once

dress collection

through your closet.

If you have dresses to drop off before the break come to the CeSIL office with your donations. | March 4, 2014 |11

SMCCsports

Elite Action at HUB Gymnasium! SMCC Wins 1st Round Exits in Semi Finals

March 4 1990 th

The Hank Gathers Tragedy By Sam Coombs

M

arch 4th, 1990 started as an exciting day for many NCAA basketball teams. For Loyola Marymount University, they were excited to take on Portland State in a West Coast Conference tournament game and to advance the team to a potential NCAA road to the Final Four berth. LMU was known for its’ up-tempo basketball and in your face approach to games and Hank Gathers was an integral part of this play. In the game against Portland State, LMU built a decent lead of 25-13. The 2 points that created the 12pt lead would ultimately be the last bright points of the day for LMU, as something that was never seen in basketball was about to happen. The day turned from exciting to devastating in the blink of an eye. This is the moment where Hank Gathers played his final basketball game.

After a brilliant alley-oop pass from Terrell Lowery, Hank Gathers skied in the air to throw down a magnificent dunk. The crowd went wild cheering for the play and seconds later would go silent for what they witnessed.

Hank Gathers collapsed to the floor.

In agony and distress Gathers tried to bring himself back to his feet but couldn’t find the energy in his body to do so. His body started going into a seizure state, which immediately had the LMU training staff in disbelief. In such a short span, Gathers went from completing such an electric play, to not even having the energy in his body to stand up. Something was seriously wrong.

Some of Gathers family rushes down to the court immediately in disbelief wanting medical staff to do something quick.

A stretcher came for Gathers as he was quickly taken off of the court. A defibrillator was bought a couple months prior to this day specifically for Hank Gathers. He had another incident that was believed to be less severe where something happen to him on the court. This was bought for a safety precaution and was used on this day.

Hank Gathers body became lifeless with no pulse shown and electric shocks were needed to try and keep him alive.

They worked for a short period of time as signs of life were shown. Gathers was worked on by emergency crews and staff in the emergency room for about an hour. CPR was administered, as was the defibrillator again. After about an hour none of these things were really working.

At around 5:40 pm, a short time after Gathers collapsed on the court, he was pronounced dead.

Gathers had such a future ahead of him as a potential NBA basketball player turning his talents into a profession. This was such a shame that a life was taken so soon from this earth.

When his teammates heard the news, still in their uniforms, they were in utter disbelief at how this could happen to a great person like Hank Gathers.

The story of Gathers soon surfaced all through America, as nothing like this had ever really happened in American sports history.

The death of such a prolific player who was in his prime was just devastating for the sport, his teammates, and his family. Gathers was a player who in 1989 led the whole nation in points and rebounds and was on track to be a potential future NBA star. A highly coveted player and recognized player by NBA talent scouts. This day was just a shame.

The West Coast Conference showed some tremendous class to Loyola Marymount who was given an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and the conference tournament was canceled. This gave the team something to play for. They were playing for Hank Gathers and still making him an essential part of the team that year. The most extraordinary thing was that LMU went on to make an amazing run in the NCAA tournament and advancing all the way to the Elite 8. They used their tremendous strength and passion to surge themselves all the way to the Elite 8 playing for Gathers. This day in sports will forever be remembered as a tragic day for LMU fans because of what happen on the court, but also a great celebration of the life of Hank Gathers and the great talent and character he bestowed in himself.

12 | March 4, 2014 |

n between publication dates of the Beacon, The YSCC Elite 8 Road to Uniontown, post-season basketball tournament descended upon the SMCC campus. 16 teams representing 9 different YSCC affiliated schools squaring off against one another in a single elimination play.

Both SMCC teams entered the Elite 8 tourna-

ment with high expectations as the number 2 seed’s. The expectation was to play CMCC in the championship game but unfortunately that didn’t pan out, however this doesn’t say anything about the way the players fought to win on the court.

The Lady and Men Seawolves, who were both seeded 2nd after number 1 seed Central Maine Community College, started their journeys through the tournament on Thursday for the Lady’s and Friday for the men.

The Lady Seawolves’ got off to a sluggish

its first lead of the game. Danielle Day and Danielle McCusker padded the lead to 25-17 with Danielle Day’s 3 pointer capping the mini scoring spree.

The next few minutes saw NHTI hanging close after which as both teams traded baskets enabling SMCC to go into halftime with a 6 point lead 31-25.

The 2nd half opened up with teams swapping baskets after which SMCC went on another mini scoring spree building a 40-30 lead with 15 minutes to go in the contest. NHTI countered, cutting the lead to 7 only to see SMCC regain a 10 point lead at the 12 minute mark. With little less then 10 minutes to go, SMCC built a 13 point lead behind the 3pt shooting of Danielle McCusker who drained two 3pt shots and added a layup.

At the 9 minute mark, Danielle Kimball of NHTI drained a 3pt shot cutting the lead to 10. Over the next 8 minutes of play, NHTI held SMCC to only 5 points managing to grab a 58-55 lead.

The Lady Seawolves found themselves trailing by 3 points with only a little over a minute left in the game. McCusker sank a huge 3pt shot to tie the game while teammate Esther Palmieri on the next possession was fouled and sent to the free throw line for a chance to once again take the lead.

I

By Sam Coombs

Hoops

highlights

start against NHTI spotting the Lynx a 6-2 lead in the first 4 minutes of the game.

The first 10 minutes of the game saw SMCC going 0-9 from beyond the 3pt line. While the game may not have been an aesthetic display of athletic ability and teamwork, somehow the Lady Seawolves stayed close to NHTI trailing 17-13 at the 10 minute mark.

With about 8 minutes left in the first half Maria Veino sunk two free throws giving SMCC

SPORTSextra Women’s Yankee Small College Conferance Quarter Final Play

Unity vs. CMCC: With the ball hovering high above the rim players from both teams jockey for position waiting for its decent. While Unity trailed at half 50-19 they did maintain a fighting spirit in the second half keeping pace with CMCC while only being out scored by 3pts.

NHTI vs. SMCC: SMCC’s center Nyalieb Deng looks to the hoop while NHTI’s Allura LeBlanc positions herself defensively, as Sara Romano #5 slides down to help and Anay Leek #21 watches from near the 3pt arch.

Deng finished the game with 13pts and 14 rebounds in the contest.

U Maine Augusta vs. U Maine Machias: Machias’s Meagan Cope drives the baseline throwing up a left hand shot against Courtney Jicks and Arreonte Lee of U Maine Augusta. Cope would finish the game with 18pts and 5 rebounds in a losing effort to the Moose.

U Maine Augusta vs. U Maine Machias: Arreonte Lee of U Maine Augusta splits the defense on the inbound pass in the first half of quarter final action against the Clippers of U Maine Machias. Arreonte would contribute 13pts and 8 rebounds in the win over Machias.

NHTI vs. SMCC: Lady Seawolve Jaimi Poland fires up a 3pt shot over NHTI’s Allura LeBlanc in quarter final action in the YSCC Elite 8 Tournament. Jaimi finished the game with a modest 4pts in 63 – 58 victory over NHTI. The victory enabled the Seawolves to live another day.

Vermont Tech vs. St Joseph’s: With 5:20 remaining St. Joe’s Ashley Bathalon gets a jump shot off against Vermont Tech’s Serena Reynolds. Ashley Bathalon finished the game with 16pts, 8 assist and 15 rebounds while posted a modest 3pts and 5 rebounds.

Women’s Quarter Finals CMCC 87 - Unity 53 SMCC 63 - NHTI 58 U of Maine - Augusta 88 - U of Maine - Machias 76 Vermont Tech College 71 - Saint Joseph’s College of Vermont 54

Unity vs CMCC: Susie French of CMCC scans the court while Unity’s Candace Robinson #40 and Ashley Moeller try to set up the double team. Susie French finished the game with 14pts, 9 rebounds and 4 steals as CMCC cruised to a 87-53 victory.

Vermont Tech vs. St Joseph’s 1: Vermont Tech’s Alyssa Cassanelli starts and finishes a reverse layup against St Joe’s Shalonica Speicht.

Vermont Tech would finish St. Joe’s off 71-54, advancing to the semi-finals facing CMCC.

| March 4, 2014 |13

SPORTSextra Men’s Yankee Small College Conferance Quarter Final Play

UMA vs SMCC 1: The Seawolves Jose Nouchanthavong fires up a 3pter against the Moose from U Maine Augusta in their quarterfinal game. Jose ended the game with 25pts as the Wolves won 89-71 advancing to the semi-finals.

EMCC vs Machias: Brian Gatchell from U Maine Machias finds a seam in the defense and collects an easy 2. Machias would hang on for a 69-67 win earning a trip to the semi-finals and the honor of playing CMCC. Vermont Tech vs. CMCC: Jamal Hughes of Vermont Tech ties the game at 42 in the beginning minutes of the 2nd half as Luis Medina watches the play transpire to its end.

Kamal Hughes drained 29pts and grabbed 9 rebounds in an exciting game that didn’t see CMCC pull away until the late stages of the game.

NHTI vs. St Joseph’s: With Dorea Wilson watching from the baseline a fellow teammate muscles up a shot with a St Joe defender holding his ground. St. Joe’s would walk away with a 27pt victory setting up a show down with SMCC in the semi-finals.

UMA vs. SMCC: Tevon Erwin turns to face Jose Nouchanthavong and work the ball upcourt. Erwin scored 21ptsgrabbed 8 rebounds and collected 6 steals in a losing effort.

EMCC vs. Machias: Jared Gregory gets good air and hang time in the first half of EMCC’s quarter final game versus Machias.

Gregory ended the game with 10pts and 6 rebounds.

Vermont Tech vs. CMCC: CMCC’s Jalen Lincoln looks for a way to get a shot off against Tyrie Wilson in the 1st half of their quarterfinal game. Lincoln ended the game with 9pts and 9 rebounds in what was a tightly fought game through the 1st half.

CMCC went into the break leading by a slim 4pts. Tyrie Wilson finished off the game with 11pts and 5 rebounds.

Men’s FinalsQuarter Saint Joseph’s College of Vermont 96 - NHTI 59 SMCC 89 - University of Maine 14 | March 4, 2014 |

Augusta 71 CMCC 93 - Vermont Tech 77 NHTI vs St Joseph’s: Kashean Alston and Michael Bowlers eye a loose ball as they are surrounde by NHTI players in the first half of their quarter final game against NHTI

SPORTSextra

The Yankee Small College Conferance Semi-Finals

St Joseph’s vs. SMCC: Ramel Anderson looks to drive while Jose Nouchanthavong guards him as the game winds down. Anderson would finish the game with 5pts, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the victory for St. Joe’s, which earned them a trip to the YSCC finals versus CMCC. Jose Nouchanthavong scored 17pts for the Seawolves, who saw their season come to an end.

Vermont Tach vs. CMCC: Ama Baker Vermont Tech’s pesky guard drives fearlessly looking to get something going in the 2nd half against the Lady Mustangs. Ama would score 21pts, grab 7 rebounds and dish out 6 assist.

Vermont Tech vs. CMCC: CMCC’s Susie French posts up for 2 of her 30pts in their semi-final matchup against Vermont Tech. The high octane CMCC Mustangs would score 107pts in handling Vermont Tech, while allowing 60.

U Maine Augusta vs. SMCC: Maria Veino finds room against the Moose of U Maine Augusta and gets an easy layout. Veino would finish the game with 17pts and 13 rebounds. The Seawolves would lose to U Maine Augusta falling short of playing for the YSCC Championship.

U Maine Augusta vs. SMCC: Danielle McCusker finds the path to the basket tough going as Jamie Plummer and another U Maine Augusta defender hinder her path. Danielle McCusker would end the game with 17pts and 5 rebounds.

Semi-Finals

Machias vs. CMCC: Raymond Monroe tumbles over Elvis Nunez of U Maine Machias as Erick Andrews and Aaron Van Buren follow the play. Monroe scored 9pts in CMCC’s victory, which sent the Mustangs to Unionville.

Machias vs. CMCC: Carrington Miller looks to get a jumper off against Elvis Nunez while Floyd Higgins reaches to deflect Miller’s jumper in the 1st half. Carrington Miller added 3pts while Elvis Nunez chipped in 8pts and Floyd Higgins scored 17 for U Maine Machias. CMCC would go on to win the tournament in a highly contested game where the play was extremely physical at times.

Women: University of Maine - Augusta 75 - SMCC 67

Men:College of St. Josephs (Vermont) 79 - SMCC 65.

CMCC 107 - Vermont Tech 60

CMCC 102 - University of Maine Machias 95

St Joseph’s vs. SMCC: Alexander Hartford applies defensive pressure against Ramel Anderson in the 2nd half of their semi-final contest. Hartford scored 4pts, grabbed 4 rebounds and had 2 assists in the Seawolves loss to St. Joe’s. | March 4, 2014 |15

SPORTSextra The Yankee Small College Conferance Finals

UMA vs CMCC: U Maine – Augusta’s Arreonte Lee drives to the basket past CMCC’s Laura Soohey in the first half of the YSCC Championship. Arreonta finished the game with 14pts in a losing cause to Central Maine Community College.

UMA vs CMCC: Hannah Champagne drives for a layout over U Maine – Augusta’s Jennifer Lola in the YSCC Women’s Elite 8 final. Hannah Champagne finish the contest with 3pts, 3assists and 2 steals.

UMA vs CMCC: Lady Mustang Jamie Plummer gets air born to catch a long pass in an effort to break the tenacious CMCC full court press. Jamie finished the game with 17pts while grabbing 7 rebounds for the Lady Moose.

UMA vs. CMCC: Laura Soohey works the baseline and gets off a short jumper over U Maine – Augusta’s Jasmine Browne while fellow Moose Angelica Bulgin and Courtney Jicks look on. Laura Soohey finished the game with 12pts and 14 rebounds in the Mustang victory.

St. Joseph’s vs CMCC: Big men Kazre Cummings of CMCC and Michael Bowlers of St. Joe’s fight for a rebound in the first half of the YSCC Elite 8 Championship game. The Mustangs walked away with a 90 – 68 victory earning an automatic bid to the USCAA National Finals in Uniontown, PA.

St. Joseph’s vs CMCC: CMCC’s Luis Mendina throws up a soft shoot over St. Joe’s Micheal Bowlers as Rahmel Smalls and Jimmy Pina battle it out for a rebound that never materialized.

Finals Women: CMCC 100 - University of Maine Augusta 48

Men: CMCC 90 - Saint Joseph’s of Vermont 69 St. Joseph’s vs. CMCC: Micheal Bowlers of St Joe’s found the going rough against CMCC’s vicious defense as Jimmy Pena comes into finish the work that his team mates started.

16 | March 4, 2014 |

St. Joseph’s vs. CMCC: Ramel Anderson has a hard time controlling the ball against CMCC’s high octane defense as CMCC’s Jimmy Pina steps up to grab the loose ball after Jalen Lincoln created a turnover.